


I Bloom Just For You

by al_ex_an_d_er_hamiltons



Series: This Year's Love [3]
Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, Kissing in the Rain, Light Angst, M/M, but don't worry they literally kiss and make up, grumpy David, grumpy patrick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2020-10-11 20:31:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20552273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/al_ex_an_d_er_hamiltons/pseuds/al_ex_an_d_er_hamiltons
Summary: “I think we got a flat tire.”David’s stomach dropped as he got out to join Patrick, who was now peering into the trunk, which was crammed full of boxes and totes of product for the store.“Where’s the spare tire?”“Um. About that.”  David stalled, looking around helplessly, hand covering his lips, as if it would magically appear along the side of the road.“David.” Patrick looked at him, hands on his hips, impatient.“I knew we’d need room to pick up the packages today, so I took it out of the trunk.” David blurted, throwing his hands up and then twisting his rings anxiously around his fingers. “I didn’t anticipate getting a flat tire.”“I’m pretty sure nobody anticipates getting a flat tire, David.”Or, things don't go as planned during a springtime buying run for the store.





	I Bloom Just For You

**Author's Note:**

> This is the third (and penultimate) installment of the series! Thanks to all who have read, commented, left kudos, etc. Much appreciated!
> 
> Shoutout to Bahíyyih for being my first reader on this!
> 
> And, thanks as always to my discord family for...everything. Things have been weird and difficult lately and I've come to rely on them a lot to see me through. 
> 
> Title is from the song "Bloom" by Troye Sivan.

David liked the idea of spring. It was about new beginnings, a chance to start over. Most people looked to New Year’s Eve to set goals for self-improvement, but David always regarded the first day of spring as his personal point of reference. There was something romantic about seeing things bloom and come to life, the fresh smell of rain and soil, the washing away of the detritus and gloom of winter. 

From a business standpoint, spring also meant launching new products, and so David and Patrick found themselves spending one afternoon making vendor runs, stopping off at various farms and co-ops to pick up orders. The day hadn’t exactly gone smoothly; they’d gotten into a tense discussion with one of their vendors about renegotiating their consignment agreement, while another didn’t have the amount of product that they had ordered on hand. Patrick was moody, and David was hungry, so they’d decided to call it a day and headed back to the store with what they had. They were in the Rose Family Vehicle, bumping along a road well outside town limits, arguing (good-naturedly, at first) about the merits of Taylor Swift’s career when, with a bang, the car hit a large pothole. 

“Ouch. That didn’t sound good.” Patrick’s brow furrowed with concern, a look that deepened seconds later when the car started to rock unevenly. 

“What’s that? What’s happening?” David’s voice rose hysterically as he peered around, as if he’d be able to see what was wrong with the car from the passenger seat. 

“I think we got a flat tire.” Patrick steered the car to the shoulder of the road and climbed out. David’s stomach dropped as he got out to join Patrick, who was now peering into the trunk, which was crammed full of boxes and totes of product for the store. 

“Where’s the spare tire?”

“Um. About that.” David stalled, looking around helplessly, hand covering his lips, as if it would magically appear along the side of the road. 

“David.” Patrick looked at him, hands on his hips, impatient. 

“I knew we’d need room to pick up the packages today, so I took it out of the trunk.” David blurted, throwing his hands up and then twisting his rings anxiously around his fingers. “I didn’t anticipate getting a flat tire.” 

“I’m pretty sure nobody  _ anticipates _ getting a flat tire, David.” Patrick sounded exasperated, slamming the trunk closed and scrubbing a hand over his face in frustration. David bit his lip, looking up and down the road. There were no other cars in sight. Patrick pulled out his phone, clicking around for a moment while leaning against the car.

“Shit,” he murmured. “I don’t have any reception.”

“ _ What? _ ” David said sharply, pulling his own phone out. Zero bars. Panic rose in David’s chest. A flat tire, no cell service, miles away from civilization. 

“Please don’t let me die out here, Patrick.” Patrick just looked at him, then rolled his eyes. 

“We’re not going to die, David. We are, however, going to have to start walking.”  _ Same thing,  _ David thought, though instinct warned him against verbalizing this. 

He did, however, look apprehensively up to the sky. It had been a balmy spring day, slightly overcast with pockets of sunshine streaming down from the heavens like spotlights. The sky to the south, however- towards town- looked significantly darker. 

“ Okay, it’s just. It looks like it’s gonna rain, though.” He grimaced at Patrick, who looked back at him flatly, completely unaffected. 

“We’ll be fine if we hurry.” Patrick insisted. 

“Okay, weatherman.” David muttered quietly under his breath, his own irritation now getting the better of him. Not quietly enough- Patrick shot him a look before locking the car up and setting off, back toward town on foot. 

They walked in silence for a few minutes, craning their necks occasionally to see if any other cars were coming their way. David was pretty sure Patrick was upset with him, which he couldn’t argue with. While he couldn’t have predicted the future, in retrospect it did seem wildly irresponsible to remove the spare tire from the trunk, especially since he knew they’d be traveling along some of the less well-maintained roads in the county. David vowed silently to not complain about walking for miles, considering it was mostly his own fault. 

He did his best to keep the mood light- other than the threatening clouds overhead and the heavy atmosphere of impending rain, it was a beautiful day out. The spring breeze had picked up, but there was no thunder to be heard, no lightning to be seen.

“You’re probably right about the rain holding off,” David said, trying to be encouraging. “It’s actually pretty nice out.”

Patrick grunted noncommittally in response. 

David tried again. 

“The cherry blossoms should be blooming pretty soon. Maybe we could plan a day trip to the botanical gardens, or something.”

“Sure, David.” Patrick’s tone was terse and clipped, and he was clearly not in the mood to talk at the moment.

David sighed, resigning himself to the fact that Patrick was indeed mad at him, or maybe just at the world in general. He wasn’t sure the day could get much worse, and was too tired to try to salvage it any longer. 

Then it started raining. 

It was just one raindrop at first, then two. A spattering of a few more. Then the floodgates opened, and it was a downpour. David gasped, stopping in his tracks, and Patrick let out a groan of frustration. Within seconds they were completely soaked. Too far now to go back to the car, they looked around wildly for some form of shelter, and spotted a clump of trees nearby. They ran to the trees and came to rest, chests heaving, against the trunks. The thick canopy provided some respite from the rain, with some drops still trickling down softly around them. David pushed his soaked hair out of his eyes, looked down to see if his high-tops could be salvaged. It was hard to tell at this point. He looked over at Patrick, whose light blue button-down was practically see-through, plastered to his chest. The look on Patrick’s face was priceless- lips pressed firmly together in a straight, unamused line, his neck and exposed collarbone flushed with irritation- and David started laughing. He tried to hold back at first, pressing his lips together, covering his mouth with one hand. Despite his efforts, laughter burst out of him, unbidden. He had never seen Patrick look so angry, but for some reason, it sent him into hysterics, full body-shaking, bent-over-and-clutching-his-stomach laughter.

“This isn’t funny, David!” Patrick had to raise his voice slightly to be heard over David’s laughter and the sound of rain pounding the ground. Patrick ran his hands through his short, now-soaked hair, then crossed his arms, waiting for David to get a hold of himself. 

He couldn’t pull himself together, tears of laughter now joining the raindrops streaming down his face, and he had to brace himself against the trunk of the tree to keep himself upright. Glancing up at Patrick, he could see that his resolve to be upset was waning, his lip twitching with the effort to not smile before giving in. A grin broke across his face as he shook his head. He reached for David, and David leaned toward him, breathless with laughter. 

“I’m sorry I’ve been in such a bad mood today,” Patrick said, just loud enough to be heard. David wrapped his arms around Patrick, squeezing his waist reassuringly. 

“And I’m sorry I took the spare tire out of the car.” 

“Yeah, well. We can make it up to each other later.” Patrick kissed David gently. “Once we’re out of these wet clothes.” His voice was low and suggestive, and David felt a thrill go through him. 

“Patrick, you can’t just  _ say _ things like that when we’re out here with miles and miles to walk to get home-”

“Oh, I can’t?” Patrick’s eyes gleamed, an all-too-innocent smile on his face. David narrowed his eyes at him, and pushed him up against the tree. A little grunt of surprise escaped Patrick’s throat, and David was emboldened, as if the rain had washed away his irritation and apprehension and caution, and so he kissed him. Kissed him, hard, in the pouring rain, in the middle of nowhere, like a rom-com moment come to life. Patrick kissed him back hungrily, all the tension and frustration from the day dissipating, his fingers caught in David’s wet hair, his other hand pressed firmly at the small of David’s back. They shivered, the warmth of their bodies pressed together contrasting with the cool spring breeze ghosting across their rain-soaked skin. 

After a few minutes, Patrick pulled back, resting his forehead on David’s as they caught their breath. As their breathing evened out, the rain stopped, dropping off as suddenly as it had began. Patrick pressed one final, gentle kiss onto David’s lips before pushing himself away from the tree. 

“Come on. Let’s figure out how to get home.” As they continued their trek towards town, David took stock: his shoes were definitely ruined, and his wet clothing was creating some very uncomfortable and unsexy chafing, but he was surprised to find he didn’t really care too much. 

As he and Patrick walked hand-in-hand, stopping occasionally to pluck a dewy wildflower, laughing together in the sunshine under a now-clear sky, he thought of how so many of the things he loved about Patrick were the same things he loved about springtime; his fresh, clean smell like the air after it rained. His favorite shirt, the same color as a clear morning sky. The most secret, affectionate version of his smile that only appeared when David said something unexpectedly sincere, unfurling slowly like young leaves on a tree. The way laughter sometimes burst out of him, surprised, like a sudden ray of sunlight through the clouds. The way Patrick had brought warmth and light and growth into David’s life after so many consecutive years of a cold and lonely winter. David couldn’t predict the future, but he looked forward to what he hoped would be a lifetime of spring with Patrick, basking in the warm glow of his affection. 

  
  



End file.
